Republican Leadership Express Optimism Convention Will Go To A Second Ballot – And Defeat Trump

Kentucky Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell maintained the focus of the primary campaign is to bring forth the best Republican candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton.

“I want somebody who can win in November and the whole process is about trying to beat Hilary Clinton in November,” he said. “And I think our delegates, if they end up actually having the latitude to make a decision, which would occur on the second and third ballot, are going to be interested in who can win.”

Although he didn’t suggest that he does not want to see Donald Trump become the party’s nominee, Senator McConnell previously has expressed privately that Republicans drop Trump and he did little to conceal his hope that Trump would be foiled at the convention.

“I’m increasingly optimistic that there actually may be a second ballot,” he said.

McConnell expects to be a delegate and said “on the second ballot I’ll be free to do whatever I want.”

“There are some candidates suggesting it’s somehow tricky to simply follow the rules of the convention,” he said. “We’re going to follow the rules of the conventions.”

“It really will be up to the delegates,” McConnell said. “I mean this notion that there’s some group of people in Washington that can handpick somebody and deliver it is not true. If there were such a group I would probably be a part of it, but there isn’t a group.”